The United Kingdom (UK), Lead Implementing Body for Sustainable Infrastructure (LIB-SI), and the ASEAN Secretariat, co-organised the UK-ASEAN Sustainable Leadership in Infrastructure Conference yesterday, online and in-person in Singapore. 

More than 200 participants, including officials and representatives from ASEAN Member States, the United Kingdom, as well as other external partners and the private sector, attended the event. 

The conference unveiled the upcoming ASEAN Sustainable Leadership in Infrastructure Programme (ASLIP), a modular course for ASEAN officials with a focus on pre-procurement and upstream infrastructure planning. It also facilitated discussions on government-private sector collaboration in sustainable infrastructure as well as key issues on strategies and considerations in building sustainability towards net zero, urbanisation, and inclusivity and social impacts.

Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi, UK’s Minister for Asia and Middle East Amanda Milling and Cambodia’s Ministry of Public Works and Transport Director General Chhieng Pich delivered opening remarks.

In his remarks, Secretary-General Dato Lim emphasised the need to strengthen our capacity in infrastructure planning, prioritising, delivery, operations, and management.

“ASEAN continues to focus on enhancing connectivity and promoting sustainable infrastructure to make the region more competitive, accessible, and liveable. Achieving these goals requires us to strengthen the enabling environment for sustainable infrastructure, improve project preparation, and tap into different sources of funding, considering the unique context of each Member State,” he added.

The Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 underscores the importance of coordinating resources to deliver support across the full lifecycle of infrastructure projects in ASEAN, which includes project preparation as well as improving infrastructure productivity and capability building.  

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need for capacity building on key infrastructure sectors, particularly in strengthening human resources capacity to drive sustainable infrastructure in the region.

The UK’s support through ASLIP is timely as LIB-SI is working on capacity building activities to support ASEAN in promoting recovery and building resilience through sustainable infrastructure.